Singapore shares open 0.4% up on Friday

SINGAPORE stocks opened 0.4 per cent higher on Friday, in line with US stocks overnight, with the Straits Times Index moving up 13.62 points to 3,447.16 as at 9.12am.

About 125.6 million shares worth S$280.6 million in total changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of S$2.23 per share.

The most actively traded counter was Singtel, which rose S$0.02 to S$3.75 with eight million shares changing hands. Other actives included Allied Tech and No Signboard, which debuted on the Singapore Exchange on Nov 30.

Gainers outnumbered losers 105 to 61, or about seven up for every four down.

In US markets, the S&P closed at a record high and the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke above the 24,000 mark for the first time on Thursday as investors gained confidence that the Republican party's push for a US tax overhaul would succeed, Reuters reported.